Multi-standard coverage map generation

ABSTRACT

A satellite reception assembly may receive signals on a block of frequencies that encompasses channels of one or more wireless networks. The satellite reception assembly may convey information about signals received on the block of frequencies to a centralized location which may utilize the information to determine characteristics, such as coverage area and/or usage, of the wireless network(s). Additionally or alternatively, such information from a plurality of satellite reception assemblies may be aggregated and made available to third parties which may use the aggregate information, in combination with knowledge about the wireless network(s), to determine characteristics of the wireless network(s).

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 13/588,769, filedAug. 17, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,026,118).

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application makes reference to:

U.S. Pat. No. 8,611,483, entitled “Multi-Layer Time-InterleavedAnalog-to-Digital Convertor (ADC)” and filed on May 31, 2012;U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/336,451 (Attorney Docket No.24615US02) entitled “Method and Apparatus for Broadband Data Conversion”and filed on Dec. 23, 2011;U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/326,125 (Attorney Docket No.24350US02) entitled “System and Method in a Broadband Receiver forEfficiently Receiving and Processing Signals” and filed on Dec. 14,2011; andU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/532,098, entitled“Method and Apparatus for Spectrum Monitoring” and filed on Sep. 8,2011.

Each of the above applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present application relate to wireless communications.More specifically, to a method and system for Multi-Standard CoverageMap Generation.

BACKGROUND

Existing methods and systems for determining wireless network coverageand/or usage can be inefficient and/or costly. Further limitations anddisadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will becomeapparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of suchapproaches with some aspects of the present method and apparatus setforth in the remainder of this disclosure with reference to thedrawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A method and/or system is provided for multi-standard coverage mapgeneration via a network of satellite receivers, substantially asillustrated by and/or described in connection with at least one of thefigures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an example module which may be used in generatingcoverage and/or usage maps for wireless networks.

FIG. 2 depicts an example implementation where the system of FIG. 1 ismounted on customer premises.

FIG. 3 depicts an example implementation where the system of FIG. 1 ismounted to a cellular tower.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating characterization of a plurality ofwireless network using deployed satellite reception assemblies.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for determiningnetwork characteristics based on information collected via one or moresatellite reception assemblies.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate example data structures which may be populatedbased on data collected by one or more satellite reception assemblies.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate examples of coverage maps which may be generatedbased on data collected by one or more satellite reception assemblies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e. hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) which may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As utilizedherein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items in the list joinedby “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means any element of thethree-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. As another example, “x, y, and/orz” means any element of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x, y),(x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z)}. As utilized herein, the term “module” refersto functions than can be performed by one or more circuits. As utilizedherein, the term “exemplary” means serving as a non-limiting example,instance, or illustration. As utilized herein, the term “e.g.,”introduces a list of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, orillustrations.

FIG. 1 depicts an example module which may be used in generatingcoverage and/or usage maps for wireless networks. The module 102comprises a digital signal processing module 110, low-noiseblock-downconversion modules 104 ₁-104 _(M), low-noise amplifiers 106₁-106 _(M), analog-to-digital converters 108 ₁-108 _(M), where M is aninteger. The module 102 may be realized on one or more integratedcircuit (e.g., silicon die) and/or one or more printed circuits boardsand may reside in one or more housings. Implementations of the module102 may be referred to as, for example, a “next generation LNB.” Inimplementations where the signal 114 output by the module 102 utilizesInternet Protocol, the module may be referred to as an “IP-LNB.”

Each downconversion module 104 _(m) (m being an integer between 1 and M)may be operable to downconvert a block of frequencies from a higherfrequency band to a lower-frequency band. In an example implementation,each module 104 _(m) may downconvert an approximately 1 GHz-wide blockof frequencies from the K and/or Ka band to the L band. Which block offrequencies is downconverted and to what frequency the block isdownconverted may be determined by the frequency of one or moreoscillators (not shown) of the module 102, the frequencies of which maybe dynamically configurable (e.g., via one or more control signalsoutput by the DSP module 110) during operation of the module 102 (i.e.,which the module 102 is receiving and processing signals of one or morewireless networks).

The antenna select module 103 may control which of one or more antennas112 are coupled to which of the signal processing paths

Each LNA 106 _(m) may be operable to apply a gain to the signal outputby module 104 _(m) to generate the analog signal input to ADC 108 _(m).The gain may be variable and may be dynamically controlled duringoperation of the module 102 (e.g., based on feedback from the DSP module110).

Each ADC 108 _(m) may be operable to digitize the signal from LNA 106_(m) to generate a corresponding digital signal output to the DSP module110. In an example implementation, each ADC 108 m may have sufficientbandwidth to concurrently digitize the entire downconverted block offrequencies. Each ADC 108 m may, for example, comprise an ADC asdisclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/485,003 and/or asdisclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/336,451, each of whichin incorporated herein by reference above.

The DSP module 110 may be operable to process the signals received fromthe ADCs 108 ₁-108 _(m) to select and output one or more of a pluralityof frequency division multiplexed, time division multiplexed, and/orcode division multiplexed channels present in the digitized blocks offrequencies output by the ADCs 108 ₁-108 _(m). The channels maycorrespond to any number and/or type of wireless technologies. Forexample, a first one of the channels may be a satellite broadcastchannel, a second one of the channels may be a cellular channel, a thirdone of the channels may be a Wi-Fi channel, a fourth one of the channelsmay be a WiMAX channel, and a fifth one of the channels may be a WiGigchannel.

The module 102 may be dynamically configured during operation toallocate and reallocate the paths 105 ₁-105 _(M) among blocks offrequencies over time.

An example implementation is described in the next two paragraphs.

During time interval T1, one or more clients of the module 102 (e.g., atelevision or set-top-box/gateway) may desire one or more satellitetelevision channel. Accordingly, during time interval T1, the antenna112 ₂ (e.g., a feed horn and parabolic reflector) may receive a ˜1 GHzblock of frequencies in the K band, and convey that block of frequenciesto module 104 ₁ which may convert the block of frequencies to L band.The LNA 106 ₁ may then amplify the ˜1 GHz-wide L-band signal, the ADC108 ₁ may digitize the ˜1 GHz-wide L-band signal, and the DSP module 110may process the digitized signal to select the desired satellitetelevision channel(s) for output on the connection 114. During animmediately subsequent interval, time interval T2, it may be desired tocharacterize coverage and/or usage of a wireless network. Accordingly,the module 102 may be configured to receive one or more frequency blocksencompassing one or more channels of the wireless network and conveyinformation about the channel(s) to an analyzer (which may, for example,be collocated with the module 102 and/or be connected to the module 102via one or more wired, wireless, and/or optical links).

If a channel of the wireless network to be characterized is within theblock of frequencies already being processed by path 105 ₁ during timeinterval T1, the DSP module 110 may select that channel for output tothe analyzer while continuing to select the satellite televisionchannels for output to the client. If the first wireless network uses achannel that is not within the first block of frequencies already beingprocessed by path 105 ₁, then the antenna select module 103 and path 105₂ may be configured to select an antenna (e.g., antenna 112 ₁) thatreceives a second block of frequencies in which the desired channellies. The antenna that receives the first block of frequencies may alsoreceive the second block of frequencies, or a different antenna may beselected for receiving the second block of frequencies. The second blockof frequencies may be upconverted or downconverted by module 104 ₂(e.g., to the same block of frequencies output by module 104 ₁). Theoutput of module 104 ₂ may be amplified by LNA 106 ₂ and digitized byADC 108 ₂. The DSP module 110 may select the channel from the digitalsignal output by ADC 108 ₂, and output the channel on the connection 114while concurrently continuing to select the desired satellite televisionchannel(s) selected from the signal output by ADC 108 ₁.

In an example implementation, a path 105 _(m) may occasionally and/orperiodically be allocated to receiving a block of frequencies containingone or more channels of a wireless network to be characterized.Information about the received channel(s) may then be periodicallyand/or occasionally communicated to an analyzer which may generatecoverage and/or usage maps based the channel information received fromone or more of instances of the module 102. The generated coverageand/or usage maps may then be made available to network operatorsassociated with the characterized wireless networks.

Channel information may be conveyed to an analyzer as, for example,time-domain information in the form of one or more of samples of thechannel(s) output by one or more the ADCs 108 ₁-108 _(M). Additionallyor alternatively, channel information may be conveyed to an analyzer as,for example, frequency domain information in the form of a frequencyspectrum generated by performing a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) onsamples output by one or more of the ADCs 108 ₁-108 _(M). Additionallyor alternatively, channel information may be conveyed to an analyzer assymbols, bits of data, and/or other information recovered from thechannel after processing (e.g., demodulation, decoding, etc.) by the DSPmodule 110.

FIG. 2 depicts an example implementation where the system of FIG. 1 ismounted on customer premises. Shown in FIG. 2 is a satellite receptionassembly 202, a gateway 214, and an analyzer module 216. The satellitereception assembly 202 communicates with the gateway 214 via aconnection over cable(s) 114 and the gateway 214 communicates with theWAN 250 via broadband connection 240. In the example implementationdepicted, the satellite reception assembly 202 comprises a parabolicreflector 206 and feed horn (which corresponds to antenna 112 ₂ of FIG.1), and a subassembly 204 mounted (e.g., bolted or welded) to a supportstructure 208. The support structure 208 in turn, comprises a boom 220and attaches (e.g., via bolts) to the premises 210 (e.g., to the roof).In another example implementation, rather than a parabolic dish and feedhorn, the satellite reception assembly may comprise an array of antennaelements and/or receive modules, the outputs of which may be combinedfor satellite signal reception.

In an example implementation, the module 102 resides in the subassembly204. In another example implementation, various components of the module102 may be mounted to the premises separate from the satellite receptionassembly 202 (e.g., connected via wired and/or wireless connections),but may still be part of the “outdoor unit.” In another exampleimplementation, all or a portion of the components of the module 102 maybe part of the gateway 214 (or “indoor unit”). Furthermore, although theanalyzer 216 is depicted as residing in the WAN 250, in otherimplementations, all or a portion of the functions performed by theanalyzer 216 may be implemented in the module 102 (e.g., in the DSPmodule 110) and/or in the gateway 214.

The gateway 214 may transmit and/or receive data to and/or from themodule 102 via cable(s) 114, the WAN 250 via broadband connection 240,and/or one or more client devices 238 via one or more connections 234.For data from the module 102 to a client device 238, the gateway 214may, for example, recover the data from Ethernet frames received overthe cable(s) 114 and output the data to the client device 238. For datafrom the client device 238 and/or gateway 214 to the module 102, thegateway 214 may, for example, encapsulate the data in one or moreEthernet frames and output the frames onto the cable(s) 114. For databetween the WAN 250 and the module 102, the gateway 214 may perform OSIlayer-2 switching and/or OSI layer-3 routing. Although theimplementation shown in FIG. 2 uses wired connections between thegateway 214 and module 102, and between the gateway 214 and WAN 250,other implementations may utilize wireless connections.

The analyzer module 216 may be operable to characterize wirelesschannels. Characterizing a channel may comprise, for example, measuringsignal strength of the channel during one or more time intervals,measuring signal-to-noise ratio of the channel during one or more timeintervals, measuring transmissions per unit time on the channel,measuring transmitted data per unit time on the channel, measuringnumber of unique devices transmitting on the channel during one or moretime intervals, measuring symbol error rates, bit error rates, orperforming any other desirable measurement or analysis of the wirelesschannel. How a particular channel is characterized may depend on thewireless technology used on the channel and the extent to which analyzer216 supports the physical layer, network layer, and/or higher layerprotocols of that wireless technology. For example, where only onewireless network uses a particular frequency channel, the analyzer 216may be operable to characterize the channel based purely on frequencyspectrum analysis. Conversely, where a first wireless network and secondwireless network are concurrently sharing a particular frequencychannel, the analyzer 216 may need the capability of looking at morethan just the physical layer signals. For example, the analyzer 216 mayneed the capability of demodulating signals on of at least one of thenetworks in order to attribute signals on the channel to one of thenetworks.

In an example implementation, the analyzer 216 may be operated by, orvarious functions of the analyzer 216 may be performed by, the satelliteprovider that operates the satellite reception assembly 202. In such animplementation, the satellite provider may, for example, sellinformation collected and/or generated by the analyzer to, for example,other network operators.

In an example implementation, the analyzer 216 may be operated by, orvarious functions of the analyzer 216 may be performed by, a networkoperator associated with a wireless network to be characterized. In suchan implementation, the network operator may, for example, subscribe tothe channel information data output by the satellite receptionassemblies 202 operated by the satellite provider.

In an example implementation, the analyzer 216 may be operated by, orvarious functions of the analyzer 216 may be performed by, a third partyservice provider. In such an implementation, the third-party serviceprovider may, for example, pay the satellite provider for access to thechannel information output by the satellite reception assemblies,analyzes the channel information, and then sells the results of theanalysis to wireless network operators.

The module 102 may be configured to receive signals of one or morechannels of one or more wireless networks for the purpose of relayingthe signals (or data recovered from the signals) to other devices thatdesire to consume data carried on the channel(s). For example, themodule 102 may be configured to receive signals of one or more channelsof a satellite broadcast network associated with satellite 230 for thepurpose of conveying the signals (or data recovered from the signals) tothe client device 238 for consumption (e.g., so a user of the client 238can watch a television program). As another example, the module 102 maybe configured to receive signals of a channel of a wireless network(e.g., a Wi-Fi, cellular, WiGig, or WiMAX network) handled by the basestation 232 for the purpose of conveying the signals (or data recoveredfrom the signals) to the client device 238 for consumption (e.g., so auser of the client device 238 can view a webpage).

Additionally or alternatively, the module 102 may be configured toreceive signals of one or more channels of one or more wireless networksfor the purpose of characterizing the channel(s). The channelcharacteristics may be used to characterize the wireless network(s) as awhole. Characterizing a channel may comprise sampling (e.g., via one ormore of ADC 108) signals on the channel during one or more timeintervals and storing the samples for further processing.Characterization may comprise performing measurements and/or analyses onthe samples in the time domain and/or converting the samples to thefrequency domain (e.g., via a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) andperforming measurements and/or analyses in the frequency domain.

Which channels of which wireless networks the module 102 is configuredto receive and process may depend on control signals received wirelesslyand/or via the cable(s) 114. Such control signals may be received from,for example, the gateway 214 and/or from the analyzer 216.

In an example implementation, the module 102 may be configured such thatsignals of multiple wireless networks and/or multiple channels of aparticular wireless network are received and digitized concurrently byone or more of the receive paths 105 ₁-105 _(M). In such animplementation, the DSP module 110 may then dynamically select whichchannels are conveyed to which devices. For example, the DSP module 110may select a satellite broadcast channel present in the digitizedreceived signal for output to the client device 238 and may concurrentlyselect a channel of a cellular network for output to the analyzer 216(as illustrated by arrow 242).

FIG. 3 depicts an example implementation where the system of FIG. 1 ismounted to a cellular tower. Shown in FIG. 3 is a satellite receptionassembly 202, an analyzer module 216, and a cellular tower 306. Thesatellite reception assembly 202, the WAN 250, and the analyzer 216 maybe as described above with reference to FIG. 2.

In an example implementation, the module 102 resides in the subassembly204. In another example implementation, various components of the module102 may be mounted on or near the cellular tower 306 separate from thesatellite reception assembly 202 (e.g., connected via wired and/orwireless connections. Furthermore, although the analyzer 216 is depictedas residing in the WAN 250, in other implementations, all or a portionof the functions performed by the analyzer 216 may be implemented in themodule 102 (e.g., in the DSP module 110) and/or in separate modulesmounted on or near the cellular tower 306.

In an example implementation, one or more antenna elements of thecellular tower 306 may be coupled to the module 102 via a cable 308 andmay function as one or more of the antennas 112 described above withreference to FIG. 1. The module 102 may communicate channel informationto the analyzer 216 via a one or more cables 304 (or wirelessconnections) as illustrated by arrow 342.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating characterization of a plurality ofwireless networks using deployed satellite reception assemblies. Shownin FIG. 4 are base stations 402 a and 402 b of a first wireless network(e.g., a cellular network), base stations 406 a-406 e of a secondwireless network (e.g., a Wi-Fi network), and satellite receptionassemblies 400 ₁-400 ₆, each of which may be, for example, an instanceof the satellite reception assembly 202. The base stations 402 a and 402b cover areas 404 a and 404 b, respectively, using one or more wirelesschannels. Similarly, the base stations 406 a-406 e cover areas 408 a-408e, respectively, using one or more wireless channels.

In operation, the satellite reception assemblies 400 ₁-400 ₆ may receivesignals on one or more channels of the first wireless network and/or onone or more channels of the second wireless network. The satellitereception assemblies 400 ₁-400 ₆ may then report information about thechannels to a centralized module which may use the channel informationto characterize the channels individually, the first wireless network asa whole, and/or the second wireless network as a whole. The centralizedmodule may be, for example, an analyzer 216 residing in one of thesatellite reception assemblies 400 ₁-400 ₂, collocated with one of thesatellite reception assemblies, or residing on one or more servers of aWAN that are reachable via broadband connections that serve thesatellite reception assemblies 400 ₁-400 ₂.

In an example implementation, channel information reported by thesatellite reception assembly 400 ₁ may indicate that it can receivesignals from base station 406 a and base station 402 a and may furtherindicate characteristics of the received signals such as signalstrength, SNR, error rate, etc. The other satellite receptionsassemblies 400 ₂-400 ₆ may report similar information about signals ofthe first and/or second wireless network that they can receive. Theanalyzer may then use the reported channel information, along withinformation about the location of the satellite reception assemblies 400₁-400 ₆ (e.g., available in a data structure and/or reported by thesatellite reception assemblies 400 ₁-400 ₆ along with the channelinformation) to generate coverage maps for the first and second wirelessnetworks. Generation of the coverage maps may also utilize knowninformation about the first and second wireless network such as locationof the base stations 406 a-406 e and 402 a and 402 b.

In an example implementation, channel information reported by thesatellite reception assemblies 400 ₁-400 ₆ may indicate the presence ofclient devices on the first and/or second wireless network. For example,the satellite reception assemblies may be capable of demodulating anddecoding packet headers that identify a source of transmissions on thefirst wireless network and/or the second wireless network. In such aninstance, the reported channel information from a satellite receptionassembly 400 _(j) (j being an integer between 1 and 6) could indicatehow many devices it heard on a particular network during one or moreparticular time intervals, an identifier associated with the devicesheard on a particular network during one or more particular timeintervals, etc. This reported channel information may be utilized forgenerating maps and/or charts that indicate network usage vs. time.

In an example implementation, each of the satellite reception assemblies400 ₁-400 ₆ may sample, during one or more time intervals, an entireblock of frequencies which encompasses one or more channels of the firstwireless network and/or one or more channels of the second wireless. Thesamples, and/or the results of performing an FFT on the samples, from aplurality of the satellite reception assemblies 400 ₁-400 ₆ may beaggregated by the analyzer 216 and the aggregate data may be madeavailable to the network operators that operate the wireless networks.The network operators can use this aggregate data in combination withtheir knowledge of their own network (e.g., knowledge of base stationlocations, channels on which various devices of the network operate,time slots allocated to various transmissions on the network, etc.) todetermine coverage and/or usage of their network, to detect networkoutages, to plan their network, etc. In this manner, the networksatellite reception assemblies 400 ₁-400 ₆ may eliminate the need forthe network operators to send out service technicians to measure networkperformance in locations where one of the satellite reception assemblies400 ₁-400 ₆ resides.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for determiningcharacteristics of a wireless network based on information collected viaone or more satellite reception assemblies. In step 504, a module 102(e.g., residing in a satellite reception assembly) is configured toreceive one or more channels of a wireless network that is to becharacterized. In step 506, the module 102 receives signals on the oneor more channels. In step 508, the module 102 conveys information aboutthe signals received on the one or more channels to an analyzer. Thismay comprise for example, forwarding the raw signals, in analog ordigital form, to the analyzer; converting the received signals tocorresponding frequency domain information and conveying the frequencydomain information to the analyzer; and/or processing the receivedsignals (e.g., demodulating and/or decoding at least a portion of thesignals) and conveying the recovered symbols or data to the analyzer. Instep 510, the analyzer uses the received channel information from themodule 102, and possibly from other instances of the module 102, todetermine characteristics of the network such as network coverage and/ornetwork usage. In step 512, the analyzer may make the determinedcharacteristics available, possibly in exchange for payment, tointerested parties (e.g., the network operator that operates thewireless network, its competitors, and/or news agencies that report onthe wireless industry, etc.).

Using channel information from a one or more satellite receptionassemblies, an up-to-date and comprehensive database (or other datastructure) of signal sources, the location of such sources (e.g., usingGPS, signal strength measurement, triangulation such as might beperformed by satellite reception assemblies based on time-of-arrival ofsignal markers such as preambles or pilot symbols, and/or othermethods), and other characteristics such as, for example,protected/unprotected status, frequency offset, frequency oftransmission, and/or estimated power levels can therefore be created andmaintained in real-time. The database can be made available to, forexample, other databases, entities, devices, mobile applications,desktop applications, etc. Such a database may be used, for example, forpurposes such as determining nearby hotspots, positioning, timesynchronization, hand-off, frequency allocation, frequency planning, orcoverage planning and analysis. For example, such a database couldprovide a wireless network operator with information regarding whatspectrum is currently available in which locations. As another example,such a database could be used to track statistical spectral usage overtime to allow more intelligent spectrum allocation, or time-varyinglicensing/sharing/leasing/auctioning of spectrum over time to one ormore service operators or individual device users. For example, anetwork operator may analyze its network, determine locations and/ortimes of low usage and offer to lease bandwidth in those locationsand/or during those times to other network operators. The offer may bein the form of an auction where multiple network providers could bid onthe low-usage times and/or locations. Such determination of resources tobe licensed may be automated using a web-based system that networkoperators could log into to see network resources that are available forlease or purchase.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate example data structures which may be populatedbased on data collected by one or more satellite reception assemblies.In FIG. 6A, the data structure comprises M×N (where M an N are bothintegers) records, with each record storing one or more characteristics(e.g., SNR, frequency offset, power levels, number of devices using thechannel, etc.) of a particular channel in a particular location. In theexample implementation shown in FIG. 6A, there are N satellite receptionassemblies in a corresponding N locations, with each satellite receptionassembly collecting data on M (an integer) channels. The locations couldbe identified by, for example, GPS coordinates, street address, and/or aunique identifier associated with the satellite reception assemblylocated there. In FIG. 6B, the data structure comprises M×N records,with each record storing characteristics for a corresponding channelduring each of Z (an integer) time intervals. In FIG. 6C, the datastructure comprises N records, with each record storing a list of basestations detected by the satellite reception assembly in a particularlocation, respective characteristics of those base stations and/or theirtransmissions, a list of client devices detected by the satellitereception assembly in a particular location, and respectivecharacteristics of those client devices and/or their transmissions.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate examples of coverage maps which may be generatedbased on data collected by one or more satellite reception assemblies.For illustration, example maps corresponding to the network shown inFIG. 4 are depicted.

The map FIG. 7A, depicts coverage areas and base stations associatedwith the coverage areas. Different graphical images are used for the twowireless networks to enable distinguishing which coverage areas andwhich base stations belong to each network.

The map in FIG. 7B shows power levels for base stations of a particularwireless network (more dots per in² corresponding to higher powerlevels). The areas 702 a and 704 a corresponding to higher power level,the areas 702 b and 704 b corresponding to an intermediate power level,and the areas 702 c and 704 c corresponding to a lower power level.

The map in FIG. 7C shows which channels each base station of aparticular wireless network is transmitting on. In the exampleimplementation, each of base stations 406 a-406 c, 406 d are using afirst channel (indicated by cross-hatching) and the base station 406 dis using a second channel (indicated by dots).

The map in FIG. 7D shows wireless device population density, with areas710 being areas having a higher number of wireless devices per squaremeter, areas 712 being areas having an intermediate number of wirelessdevices per square meter, and areas 714 being areas having a lowernumber of wireless devices per square meter. The devices counted may be,for example, network specific or across all wireless networks present inthe area.

Other implementations may provide a non-transitory computer readablemedium and/or storage medium, and/or a non-transitory machine readablemedium and/or storage medium, having stored thereon, a machine codeand/or a computer program having at least one code section executable bya machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or computerto perform the steps as described herein for multi-standard coverage mapgeneration.

Accordingly, the present method and/or apparatus may be realized inhardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Thepresent method and/or apparatus may be realized in a centralized fashionin at least one computing system, or in a distributed fashion wheredifferent elements are spread across several interconnected computingsystems. Any kind of computing system or other apparatus adapted forcarrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typicalcombination of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computingsystem with a program or other code that, when being loaded andexecuted, controls the computing system such that it carries out themethods described herein. Another typical implementation may comprise anapplication specific integrated circuit or chip.

The present method and/or apparatus may also be embedded in a computerprogram product, which comprises all the features enabling theimplementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded ina computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer programin the present context means any expression, in any language, code ornotation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having aninformation processing capability to perform a particular functioneither directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversionto another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a differentmaterial form.

While the present method and/or apparatus has been described withreference to certain implementations, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents maybe substituted without departing from the scope of the present methodand/or apparatus. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation or material to the teachings of the presentdisclosure without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intendedthat the present method and/or apparatus not be limited to theparticular implementations disclosed, but that the present method and/orapparatus will include all implementations falling within the scope ofthe appended claims.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A system comprising: satellite reception circuitrycomprising downconversion circuitry, an amplifier, and a digital signalprocessing circuitry, wherein: in a first mode of operation of saidsatellite reception circuitry, said downconversion circuitry is operableto downconvert a first block of frequencies encompassing a plurality ofsatellite channel and non-satellite channels, and said digital signalprocessing circuitry is operable to select said one or more of saidsatellite channels for providing of satellite television service to aclient device; and in a second mode of operation of said satellitereception circuitry, said downconversion circuitry is operable todownconvert said first block of frequencies, and said digital signalprocessing circuitry is operable to select said one or more of saidnon-satellite channels to be used for characterization of anon-satellite network.
 22. The system of claim 21, comprising ananalyzer, wherein: in said second mode of operation, said analyzer isoperable to receive said selected one or more of said non-satellitechannels from said digital signal processing circuitry.
 23. The systemof claim 22, wherein said digital signal processing circuitry isoperable to convey said selected one or more of said non-satellitechannel to said analyzer via a gateway that is served by said satellitereception circuitry and provides satellite television services to one ormore client devices.
 24. The system of claim 22, wherein said digitalsignal processing circuitry is operable to transform said downconvertedblock of frequencies to a frequency domain representation and conveysaid frequency domain representation to said analyzer.
 25. The system ofclaim 21, wherein said characterization comprises generation of a usagemap for said non-satellite network.
 26. The system of claim 21, whereinsaid characterization comprises generation of a coverage map for saidnon-satellite network.
 27. The system of claim 21, wherein said analyzeris integrated with said satellite reception circuitry.
 28. The system ofclaim 21, wherein, in said second mode of operation of said satellitereception circuitry, said downconversion circuitry is operable todownconvert a second block of frequencies that does not encompasssatellite television channels, and said digital signal processingcircuitry is operable to select one or more non-satellite channels ofsaid second block of frequencies for characterization of saidnon-satellite network.
 29. The system of claim 21, wherein said digitalsignal processing circuitry is operable to demodulate and/or decode atleast a portion of said non-satellite channels.
 30. The system of claim21, wherein said non-satellite network is one of: a cellular network anda Wi-Fi network.
 31. A method comprising: in a satellite receptionassembly comprising downconversion circuitry, an amplifier, and adigital signal processing circuitry: while said satellite receptionassembly is operating in a first mode of operation: downconverting, viasaid downconversion circuitry, a first block of frequencies encompassinga plurality of satellite channel and non-satellite channels; andselecting, via said digital signal processing circuitry, one or more ofsaid satellite channels for providing of satellite television service toa client device; and while said satellite reception assembly isoperating in a first mode of operation: downconverting, via saiddownconversion circuitry, said first block of frequencies; andselecting, via said digital signal processing circuitry, one or more ofsaid non-satellite channels to be used for characterizing anon-satellite network.
 32. The method of claim 21, comprising, in saidsecond mode of operation, outputting said selected one or more of saidnon-satellite channels from said digital signal processing circuitry toan analyzer.
 33. The method of claim 22, comprising conveying, by saiddigital signal processing circuitry, said selected one or more of saidnon-satellite channel to said analyzer via a gateway that is served bysaid satellite reception assembly and provides satellite televisionservices one or more client devices.
 34. The method of claim 22,comprising: transforming, via said digital signal processing circuitry,said downconverted block of frequencies to a frequency domainrepresentation; and conveying, by said digital signal processingcircuitry, said frequency domain representation to said analyzer. 35.The method of claim 21, wherein said characterizing comprises generatinga usage map for said non-satellite network.
 36. The method of claim 21,wherein said characterizing comprises generating a coverage map for saidnon-satellite network.
 37. The method of claim 21, wherein said analyzeris integrated with said satellite reception assembly.
 38. The method ofclaim 21, comprising, in said second mode of operation of said satellitereception assembly: downconverting, via said downconversion circuitry, asecond block of frequencies that does not encompass satellite televisionchannels; and selecting, by said digital signal processing circuitry,one or more non-satellite channels of said second block of frequenciesfor characterization of said non-satellite network.
 39. The method ofclaim 21, comprising demodulating and/or decoding, by said digitalsignal processing circuitry, at least a portion of said non-satellitechannels.
 40. The method of claim 21, wherein said non-satellite networkis one of: a cellular network and a Wi-Fi network.